TERRAIN - Arctic Cathedral Tromso

With the first of this years Cold War Commanders Weekend Events planned for the last weekend in May I have made a start on some of the new terrain pieces I have planned. As the first weekends theme is Arctic Strike - Norway 1985 I decided to have a go at the iconic Arctic Cathedral in Tromso.

So armed with a couple of boxes i'd saved (Corn Flakes and Bakers Complete) I set to work. Now I was never planning on buildings an accurate scale model, for one thing that probably would have resulted in the model being too big for the tabletop. I did struggle initially with the height of the Cathedral as there are numerous different heights stated on the internet so as the model had to fit on a 125mm x 100mm base I decided to go with what looked right for 6mm (1/300th) games. 

Construction was fairly easy using the box card to build up the different layers to the roof over a initial full length main building. The sections were then added one by one on top of the central core with smaller sections added to create the effect of the roof.

Overall I'm very happy with the completed model and will be adding some additional surrounding sections to allow the model to fit nicely with my existing terrain.

As always thanks for looking. Part Two will follow shortly once I have completed the additional sections that will eventually surround this model.

RETURN TO DENMARK - CWC Weekend 2025 (Part One)

OK activity has been very slow on this blog for various reasons, real life, health problems plus the inability to access this blog for a while due to problems with Microsoft Bing not allowing access to Google Chrome stuff. I've finally sorted it out so over the coming months I'll be posting information and progress on preparations for our annual CWC Weekend get together later in the year.

This years event takes place over the weekend of 18/19 October at The Unit in Stone, Staffordshire and will involve between 12 and 16 players battling it out for control of the Jutland Peninsula in the mid 1980's. Forces include Danish and West Germans reinforced by UK and USMC vs Soviet and East German Divisions reinforced by Naval and VDV troops.

Over the years we have built up a considerable collection of forces and terrain but each year I try and add to the terrain collection. This year there will be a few bits of new stuff on the workbench. First up is a Hawk Missile battery that will be more of an objective rather than a weapon system (but you never know 😉). 

The battery layout. Eventually I will add a control radar in the central area.

HAWK Launcher in position

A great model from Heroics & Ros 

I also have a Soviet SAM battery which I can use with the same base. I will post photos of the Soviet version in the next few days. 

TERRAIN - Railway Track

The dust has settled after the fantastic Partizan 2022. There was a really buzz in the hall and around the Cold War Commanders table.  While we were at Partizan the topic of conversation turned to what has to be our favourite show of the year, the Joy of Six show up in Sheffield. The Cold War Commanders will be there with an extended version of the table that was seen at Partizan. 

So it was back to the workbench to start work on few terrain pieces to add to the table as well as the terrain collection for 'The Unit Wargaming Centre'. First up a double track railway line. This will come in useful for some of the games we have planned later in the year at both 'The Unit' and at GWS (Grimsby Wargames Society).

While sorting through some stuff up at 'The Unit' I came across this bridge that i'd bought a while ago and never got round to doing anything with. I wonder.....  😉

Anyway more on that in later posts. As always thanks for looking and if you have a bit of time check out some of the great Partizan 2022 highlight videos on YouTube. In particular Alex Sotheran over at the fantastic Storm of |Steel channel https://youtu.be/0y9SH0KvJw4 which includes an interview with yours truly, Wargames Guru who included our game in his Top 10 at Partizan https://youtu.be/lFlBjWqHc28 and Mel The Terrain Tutor who took some great video and photos of the table https://youtu.be/qHitwGWuemc

Until the next time take care everyone!

PARTIZAN 2022 - Soviet Assault at Rendsburg 1985 (Part Three)

A quick update on the table for the CWC II game at Partizan later this month. Still got the canal to paint and a few more roads to finish off. Plus I have a bit more detail work to do on the bridge but we are nearly there.

Also decided to have a go at representing a road tunnel going under the canal. I think it should work. Just a couple of WIP shots so far.

As always thanks for looking and stay safe!

PARTIZAN 2022 - Soviet Assault at Rendsburg 1985 (Part Two)

As promised in Part One here is the information on the parts and suppliers used to construct the 6mm representation of part of the Rendsburg Loop as it crosses the Kiel Canal.

Railway Track

The railway track comes from Wonderful Walt at Commission Figurines http://www.commission-figurines.co.uk 

Fencing

The railside fencing again comes from Commission Figurines (see link above) and are from his 6mm Rail Fence Pack (Code: 6Fence). The sections are 100mm long which work great with the 300mm railway sections. 

Bridges

I got the bridges a few years ago from the fantastic Ali at Iliada Game Studio based in Turkey http://iliadagamestudio.com I'm not sure if he still makes them as I couldn't find them on his website the last time I looked but it might be worth contacting him if you are looking at getting some.

UPDATE (29/04):- Just spoken to Ali and he is still making them and they are on special offer at the moment.

Bridge Supports

These were designed by me and Leon at Pendraken very kindly got his Laser Team to turn them round in double quick time so they could be collected at Hammerhead. 

As well as the bits mentioned above the track beds were cut from Plasticard and the bases are 2mm MDF with a few 2p coins attached to give the pieces a bit of weight. I'll go into a bit more detail on the finishing of the pieces in the next part where I will also be working on a simple conversion to a Baggage Train road bridge to add a bit more detail.

If you are interested where the train came from, I got them off eBay about 10 years ago. They are originally from a Japanese equivalent to a Kinder Egg I believe. I got them from a chap in the UK for no more than £2.00 each but last time I checked the UK supplier was no longer trading and there were a couple available Internationally but they were over £30 each!!!

As always thanks for looking and if your are interested in coming along and playing on some of this terrain in the future please keep your eye out for details about weekend events coming up later in the year. In the mean time stay safe and enjoy the hobby.

TERRAIN - Oil Tanks

Another project that has been sat around on or near the painting table was a bag of 8 Oil Tanks (2 different types, 4 of each). Not the greatest moulds but a few bits of detail. After a bit of thought about the best way to paint them I decided on trying to sponge paint them with different shades of grey so after a black primer I used Grey Slate for the main sponge coat, followed by Platinum and then a final highlight with Grey Hints. All tester pots from B&Q.

CHARITY SHOP FIND - Dice Box

Been a while since I posted unfortunately the family have been experiencing some health issues with my Mum seriously ill in hospital. But have managed to change a few things round at work and now have a bit more time to devote to my hobby. Lots planned so stay tuned!

On a recent trip to our local High Street I always check out the multitude of Charity Shops. Always on the look out for a book or something else useful. This time my eyes fell upon this!

For the princely sum of 50p I snapped it up! But what to do with it? It seems to have been an old slide storage box but it has one clasp broken and the dividers inside are all missing. Could use it for storage but then I thought it would make a nice box to roll dice in. So some self adhesive green felt from Hobbycraft and some bits of cardboard and I made a base and four sides for the interior of the box by cutting the cardboard into strips and adding the felt.

  

The inside of the lid had a sheet where you could write information on each slide so I decided to reduce the QRS sheets from Cold War Commander and add them to the inside of the lid on a removeable bit of card. This way I can make specific ones for each ruleset I play.

Hopefully get some Solo games in soon so I can get it into action!

TALES FROM SHED HQ - 30mm Round Bases (Part Two)

In Part One I showed some of the different bases I have made for my Recce Units. Now in Part Two I have completed the bases and they are ready for the tabletop.

3. British Recce Unit - Heroics & Ros Fox Fv721 (BM15)
Rejoining a road after a little trip cross country.

4. British Recce Unit - Heroics & Ros Fox Fv721 (BM15)
Crossing a small stream.

  

5. British Recce Unit - Heroics & Ros Fox Fv721 (BM15)
Moving along a road using the hedge for cover.

6. British Recce Unit - Heroics & Ros Fox Fv721 (BM15)
Cautiously crossing a railway line.

7. British Recce Units - Heroics & Ros Scimitar Fv107 (BM06)
Four Scimitar bases just with a bit of clump foliage.

As always thanks for looking. Next up will be CO and HQ bases.

TALES FROM SHED HQ - 30mm Round Bases (Part One)

Shed HQ has been a hive of activity over the last few days as preparations are underway for this years Joy of Six show. On the workbench at the moment are a load of British and Soviet. I have been slowly re-basing all my forces, which will be a huge task, as over the years I have used several different basing styles but I have now decided to settle on one and re-base everything!

As I was working on some recce units for the British I started thinking how I could make the bases more interesting. My regular forces, armour, infantry etc are all based on 40mm x 20mm x 2mm MDF bases but HQ's, CO's, Recce and FAO/FOO's are all based on different sizes for ease of recognition. So I have decided to take a bit more time on these bases. First up 30mm diameter bases for Recce units.

What to do with a plain 30mm diameter base?

I have come up with several ideas, some inspired by fellow Cold War Commanders, including small streams, roads, fields and railways.

1. British Recce Unit - Heroics & Ros Scorpion Fv101 (BM05)

Just added a small section of ruined wall and some clump foliage to make this Recce Unit for a British Armoured Regiment.

2. British Recce Unit - Heroics & Ros Scorpion Fv101 (BM05)

Just added a small amount of clump foliage to make another Recce Unit for a British Armoured Regiment.

WIP bases for more Recce Units which I will detail in Part Two. 

Using spare bits of Hornby Track Planner makes a really interesting base. 

Small streams are another interesting addition to the base

I have also added road edges to the bases.

The bases detailed above will all have other terrain added to enhance the look so keep a look out for Part Two when I will be detailing the finished bases and also making a start on 40mm x 40mm HQ Bases.

As always thanks for looking. 

PS. DON'T FORGET THE COLD WAR COMMANDERS WILL BE AT BARRAGE 2017 IN STAFFORD ON SUNDAY JULY 9TH AND ALSO THE JOY OF SIX IN SHEFFIELD ON SUNDAY JULY 16TH. IF YOU ARE GOING PLEASE COME AND SAY HELLO.